2.4 – The Skull of Sobek

Mysterious mirages and murdered monks disturb the contemplative devotions at the Sanctuary of Imperfect Symmetry.

1 Comment

Styre
on May 7, 2016 at 9:51 PM

THE SKULL OF SOBEK

It’s interesting to see Marc Platt’s name among the authors of the new McGann season. While he showed, with “Valhalla,” that he could write a more plot-oriented story, his obvious love of worldbuilding seemed unsuited for a shorter, quicker format. I was very happy to have my expectations defied by “The Skull of Sobek,” which moves along at a blistering pace but contains the same expert scripting I’ve come to expect from one of the best Doctor Who writers of recent memory.

The pre-credits sequence is note-perfect, starting at a remembrance ceremony and taking us, through flashback, to the conflict between the Old Prince (Giles Watling) and Snabb (Sean Biggerstaff), throwing the listener into the backstory. The questions it poses aren’t necessarily intriguing, but there’s such a verve to the production that it produces a strong desire to hear what happens next. And when the Doctor and Lucie — their companionship growing stronger and closer with each passing release — emerge onto the surface of Indigo 3, the full breadth of Platt’s vision immediately becomes apparent. I love ideas like these: a planet universally painted in shades of blue, its population having 83 separate words for the color, and a perfectly symmetrical desert, centered by a shrine to the glory of imperfection. It all feels so effortless, easily communicated through the banter between Paul McGann and Sheridan Smith. I greatly admire Russell T. Davies’ writing for the new series partly because of his uncanny ability to communicate a great deal of information with a minimum of text, and Platt accomplishes the same here.

It’s ironic, though, that the story is set around a sanctuary that praises imperfections — mostly because that setting houses the story’s critical flaw: there’s perhaps a bit too much going on. I love the idea of the temple housing crocodile-men in the waters in the basement, and their violent encounters with the rest of the cast are surprisingly gory, but by the time the story finishes telling us about champions, and skulls, and race memories, and battles, it’s difficult to recount any but the most basic of details. All credit to Platt for keeping the story gripping throughout — again, it has that confidence that keeps the listener attentive — but ask what this story is about and you’ll get a jumbled mishmash of swordfights and Lucie’s fear of crocodiles. “Valhalla” may have been too long, but “Sobek” is too short — with Big Finish moving away from languid storytelling, perhaps three episodes is the ideal length for a Platt script? “Ghost Light” would seem to say so.

It’s getting repetitive, but I mean it each time: the McGann/Smith interplay gets better with each successive release. They’re comfortable together in a way that feels even more natural than the Doctor and Charley at their best — and yet Lucie’s moment of discomfort at the sight of a mutilated body is so perfectly pitched it reminds you instantly of her relative innocence. The supporting cast is especially good: Watling and Biggerstaff clearly enjoy the opportunity to chew the scenery as massive crocodiles, and Platt gives them a number of amusing double-act lines. I’m usually not familiar with the “name” actors drafted into the recent plays, but I’ve seen both Art Malik and Barbara Flynn before and enjoyed hearing their voices. Flynn especially is good as Sister Chalice, her interplay with Malik’s Abbot Absolute proving amusing and dramatic in equal turn.

The production seems to improve with each successive release as well. That the sound design is more than capable goes without saying, but Barnaby Edwards gets better and better at pacing as the series progresses. There might be too much going on during the course of the play, but the presentation is never muddled, and the pace is as rapid as most new series episodes.

Overall, “The Skull of Sobek” is the best release yet in the second McGann season. It might be confusing at times, but it’s pacy, it’s confident, and it’s exhilarating in a way few Big Finish audios have been of late. In many ways it’s an “anti-Marc Platt” script, but in many others it’s exactly what you’d expect. The series has definitely hit its stride, and with an Eddie Robson script next in line, the future looks bright.